Pick of the week
Sandhill Estate Vineyard Merlot 2005 ($19.99 in B.C., about $22 in Alberta) is what a Thanksgiving wine ought to be. It's velvety and powerful for the money - at 14.5-per-cent alcohol - with ripe plum and blackberry fruit balanced by lively spice, dry, fine-grained tannins and a chocolate-like finish.
There's no escaping it: That turkey will be dry.
Thus, the first rule of wine pairing at Thanksgiving is to make sure you have enough wine on hand, regardless of what kind it is. (Note from Mr. Crosariol's lawyer: The previous sentence should in no way be read as an inducement to drink irresponsibly; support your local taxi company.)
The second rule is that you should give strong consideration to something Canadian, because it's your residency in this great country that makes sedentary, sports-watching holidays like Monday possible. That's why I'm starting this budget-wine Thanksgiving column with some domestic selections. Each of the following wines would be a nice match for roast turkey, especially the Canadian selections. The foreign wines should offer greater latitude for those fortunate enough to be feasting instead on something more cosmopolitan, say, curried lamb or Peking duck or lasagna.
Currently available only in the West, Sandhill Estate Vineyard Merlot 2005 ($19.99 in British Columbia, about $22 in Alberta) is in that perfect strike zone of what a Thanksgiving wine ought to be. It's fruit-forward and smooth enough to appeal to occasional wine drinkers, but it opens up with nuances of complexity that will tickle the taste buds of more hard-core sippers. This full-bodied red from veteran B.C. winemaker Howard Soon and grape grower Richard Cleave is velvety and pretty powerful for the money - at a formidable 14.5-per-cent alcohol - showing ripe plum and blackberry fruit balanced by lively spice, dry, fine-grained tannins and a chocolate-like finish.
From the same winemaker comes another good merlot, Calona Vineyards Artist Series Merlot 2005 ($13.99 at private B.C. retailers), smooth, with cherry and plum flavours and hints of chocolate and vanilla and creamy tannins.
Much harder to find, and also currently available only in the West, is Pétales d'Osoyoos 2004 ($25). It's the new, "second wine" of the joint Canadian-French project in British Columbia between Vincor and Groupe Taillan of Bordeaux, which makes the luxury, $40-plus Osoyoos Larose Le Grand Vin. This impressive offspring, also a Bordeaux-style blend with merlot as the primary grape, was crafted for early drinking from very good wine lots that simply didn't make the final cut for the more expensive label. Close your eyes and you could believe it's a decent St. Émilion, full-bodied, with flavours of blackberry, raspberry, chocolate and minerals and whiffs of tobacco and mulched leaves. Just 21,000 bottles were produced, and British Columbians have been snapping them up. Grab it while you can.
The irreverently named Fat Bastard line of wines from Thierry & Guy are crafted in the warm, southern Languedoc region of France, but you might not guess that after tasting the new 2006 merlot. It does a pretty good imitation of a decent red Bordeaux. Fat Bastard Merlot 2006 ($14.95, product No. 610857) has the plum-like fruit and vague silkiness many people expect from New World merlot, but there's also an intriguing mineral-like quality here with layers of smoke and spice. The finish also is very dry in a Bordeaux sort of way.
Casa Girelli Canaletto Nero d'Avola Merlot 2003 ($12.95) is available in a number of stores in Ontario (and also by the 12-bottle case from Lifford Wine Agency. 416-440-4101). A full-bodied and uncommon red blend from Sicily, it's juicy, with notes of plum, and cherry and bracing acidity. Good value. Any half-filled bottles left over would also pair nicely with weeknight pizza.
Also from Italy, Barone Ricasoli Toscana 2006 ($12.95), a popular Chianti-like sangiovese, delivers remarkable concentration for the money. Surprisingly soft for an unoaked sangiovese, it's fresh and fruity, with a nice hint of earthiness.
From Portugal, I very much like Vista TN Touriga Nacional Reserva 2004 ($13.20, No. 613919). Here's a medium full-bodied red from the central Beiras region, with ample cherry-like fruit complemented by tobacco, charred wood and a nice tannic grip.
And from Spain, there's the ever-popular bargain Penascal Tempranillo 2005 ($9.15, No. 3434340). Now in a handy screw-cap bottle, this bargain red comes across like a baby Chianti, medium-bodied, with a slightly spicy grip.
From the recent Vintages release in Ontario, Domaine de Roquemale Les Terrasses 2005 ($16.95, No. 042978) is a great buy from southern France. It's medium full-bodied with aroma of berries and beef consommé and a whiff of tobacco, qualities echoed on the silky palate, which adds a hint of licorice and resolves with fine layer of tannins. It's blended from cinsault, grenache and syrah.
Turkey works nicely with white wine too. Chilean producer Errazuriz has done it again with the new vintage of one of its more affordable wines, Errazuriz Estate Chardonnay 2006 ($12.10, No. 318741), medium full-bodied and creamy, showing tropical fruit balanced by crisp acidity and a hint of toasty oak.
A killer white from a recent Vintages release in Ontario that I tried only recently is worth seeking out. Rochford Chardonnay Macedon Ranges 2004 ($21.95, No. 032383). This beautifully balanced wine is a steal at the price, complex and layered with flavours of pear, citrus, herbs and a brilliant display of minerality - a rare combination in a white wine from Australia.
So much for Thanksgiving. If you live in Ontario and don't mind special-ordering (obviously not in time for Thanksgiving), don't miss a superb, underrated Napa Valley red called Volker Eisele Family Estate Cabernet Sauvignon 2004 ($55, No. 053926). Released recently through specialty Classics Catalogue of the LCBO's Vintages department, this multilayered, elegant and organically grown wine shows brilliant notes of cassis, espresso coffee, cedar and vanilla, with smoky-toasty nuances and a long, chewy, tannic finish. It wouldn't make a great turkey wine anyway. Enjoy it with steak, on its own or even age it five years or more. Visit Vintages.com or call 416-365-5767 or toll-free 1-800-266-4764.
One of the more interesting sweet wines I've tasted recently is Tawse Select Late Harvest Cabernets ($20 for 200 millilitres), a blend of cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc, with just a touch of colour from minimal skin contact. From a relatively new, state-of-the-art winery in Niagara, this dessert elixir has a seductive colour, somewhere between pale orange and salmon pink. The flavour more than hints at apricot and cherry liqueur, with brilliant, balancing acidity on the long finish.
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